The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has announced plans to arrest and prosecute persons who buy goods from traders operating illegally on roads, medians, setbacks, walkways and other unauthorised public spaces across the state.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this on Tuesday at the Authority’s headquarters, saying the enforcement would begin next week.
The announcement was made in a post shared by the Lagos State Government on Facebook.
Gbadegesin said the measure formed part of a renewed enforcement strategy aimed at curbing illegal trading, indiscriminate waste disposal and the obstruction of public infrastructure across Lagos.
He explained that enforcement would no longer target only illegal traders, as customers who patronise them would also be held accountable under Section 151, subsection 2 of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017.
“The Law does not only prohibit illegal street trading. It also makes it an offence to buy goods exposed or offered for sale in prohibited places.
From next week, anyone found buying from traders operating on roadsides, medians, walkways, setbacks or other unauthorised spaces will be arrested, alongside the traders, and prosecuted in accordance with the law,” he said.
According to the LAWMA boss, anyone convicted of the offence could face a fine of N90,000, imprisonment for six months, or both.
Gbadegesin said illegal roadside and median markets often generate waste that is dumped into drains, on roads and in other public spaces, obstructing drainage channels, worsening traffic conditions and creating public health risks.
“Our objective is to stop the cycle that allows illegal trading and indiscriminate waste disposal to return after enforcement operations. Traders occupy public spaces because people continue to patronise them.
Buyers must understand that their actions sustain the problem and that they are also accountable under the law,” he said.
He said LAWMA is also strengthening waste collection services in inner streets and communities surrounding areas previously cleared of illegal dumping.
Gbadegesin stressed that identified service gaps would be addressed, while deliberate dumping, redumping and patronage of illegal markets would attract enforcement.
He urged residents and businesses to patronise recognised markets and use approved waste collection channels, stressing that personal convenience should not come at the expense of public health, environmental sanitation, road safety and the orderly use of shared public spaces.
The LAWMA chief executive reaffirmed the Authority’s commitment to sustained enforcement, stakeholder engagement and improved waste collection services as part of efforts to eliminate open dumping and achieve a cleaner Lagos.